The Health Problem For Night Owls

Night owls may be the cool people, but according to a new study by researchers at the Korea University College of Medicine, they are also the unhealthy people. Writing in the New York Times, Nicholas Bakalar reports that the researchers recruited 1,620 men and women, ages 47 to 59, and surveyed their sleeping habits to distinguish the morning people from the night owls. Then they collected data about glucose tolerance, body composition and waist size, as well as other health and behavioral characteristics. What did they find? The envelope please….. Men who were night owls were far more likely to have diabetes, and women night owls were more than twice as likely to have metabolic syndrome — high blood sugar levels, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal lipid readings. Why? Bakalar tells us that the researchers don’t really know, but they suggest that consuming more calories after 8 p.m. and exposure to artificial light at night can both affect metabolic regulation. Want to know if you’re a night owl? The Times offers short questionnaire to help you find out.